If you refuse to judge, then God won't judge on your behalf either.

[Chrysostomos]

No. This not about God's judgment, it's a basic principle of how He wants us to live. To love one another, forgive, have mercy. And this co icides with " what you sow is what you reap"( Gal. 6:7). If you lack mercy and forgiveness and instead judge harshly, life is going to come at you with the same measure of unforgiveness, lack of mercy and harshness. It's the law of reciprocity.
In context the principle in Matt 7:2 is expanded in Matt. 7:12 contains the golden rule. And of course the whole context begins earlier with the Sermon on the Mt., which teaches us how we should live and love eachother.

But there’s another side to this coin that’s often ignored.

When Jesus says, “with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:2), it’s not just about being kind instead of cruel. It’s about judging justly—standing up for the oppressed, defending the widow and orphan, and delivering the robbed from their oppressors (Jeremiah 22:3, Psalm 82:3-4). If you refuse to judge—if you say, “I’m staying out of it” and turn a blind eye to evil—you’re sowing passivity. And what you’ll reap is God’s refusal to stand up for you when you’re the victim. If you don’t judge righteously, God won’t judge on your behalf either.

Too many twist “judge not, lest you be judged”. They use it to justify staying silent, saying, “I don’t want to get involved,” while wickedness spreads. That’s not love or mercy—it’s enabling lawlessness.
Deuteronomy 32:35 shows what happens next: when Israel failed to judge sin, God’s vengeance came, and it crushed everyone. Refusing to judge doesn’t keep you safe; it invites divine wrath on the whole society.

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

But there’s another side to this coin that’s often ignored.

When Jesus says, “with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:2), it’s not just about being kind instead of cruel. It’s about judging justly—standing up for the oppressed, defending the widow and orphan, and delivering the robbed from their oppressors (Jeremiah 22:3, Psalm 82:3-4). If you refuse to judge—if you say, “I’m staying out of it” and turn a blind eye to evil—you’re sowing passivity. And what you’ll reap is God’s refusal to stand up for you when you’re the victim. If you don’t judge righteously, God won’t judge on your behalf either.

Too many twist “judge not, lest you be judged”. They use it to justify staying silent, saying, “I don’t want to get involved,” while wickedness spreads. That’s not love or mercy—it’s enabling lawlessness.
Deuteronomy 32:35 shows what happens next: when Israel failed to judge sin, God’s vengeance came, and it crushed everyone. Refusing to judge doesn’t keep you safe; it invites divine wrath on the whole society.

There are two sides to the coin, good and evil. So whatever you're dishing out ( good or evil), it will be measured back to you. Life itself has this cycle of judgments for amd against us, blessings and cursing, wins and losses, love and hate. Oh, and that hate part we are talking about in another thread will come back to you too!
A righteous judgment is in order across the board. Our judicial system was founded on this moral code imbetted within us. Where there is sin, it needs to be judged, restrained at least.
We are loving in a time when people are taking sides. It is an awaking of their spirits. WWJD is a good yardstick to use in your decisions in life. We want to be on His side of the coin, don't we?

 

[marks]

Here’s the flip side: refusing to judge at all, as many misinterpret Matthew 7:1-2, isn’t walking in the Spirit either—it’s enabling lawlessness. God appointed governing authorities to punish wrongdoing, and we’re called to judge justly (Zechariah 7:9). When we twist “judge not” to mean “ignore sin,” we let evil fester, and that’s when God steps in with the kind of vengeance described in Deuteronomy 32:41-44—where nobody escapes the consequences.

I don't think you have understanding of what I've said. I suggest you reread my posts on this topic before continuing. I've never once said that people should not be accountable for their crimes. That also is an expression of love.

I'll ask you this, define "love" for me. Will you do that?

Much love!

 

[Chrysostomos]

Oh, and that hate part we are talking about in another thread will come back to you too!

The Lord God knows about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
God sees how you slander me.

 

[Muna]

Mercy should guide how we judge, not whether we judge. It’s about fairness, not letting criminals off the hook. If we let “mercy” become a loophole for wickedness, we’re back to the same problem: tolerating sin, which God won’t abide.

Peter says here

1 Peter 4:15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.

Shows the same will suffer for their deeds, whether in this life as the thief on the cross acknowledged here

Luke 23:42 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.

Or the next if one does not repent of the same

1 Cr 6:10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

And loving your neighbour regardless of who that person is and having compassion on them who were wronged/hurt by others is shown in the Samaritan. Who, when he came across a man that fell among thieves (which had left him stripped him of his raiment, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead) did what he did, showing mercy to such a one.

On the otherhand, the democrat types would probably chase down all the thieves (while running with glee past the half dead guy they wronged) and start a gofundme campaign for all the thieves. And manifest themselves as being a little more like that priest and levite who would walk past the one wronged/hurt and left for dead and celebrate the thieves (perhaps promote them to some office) while setting up a graven image to each of them (created by some starving artist some wheres)

The soft on crime side of things

 

[Chrysostomos]

I don't think you have understanding of what I've said. I suggest you reread my posts on this topic before continuing. I've never once said that people should not be accountable for their crimes. That also is an expression of love.

I'll ask you this, define "love" for me. Will you do that?

Much love!

Before you write something, you’d better reread the Bible.

Maybe then you’d understand something.

 

[marks]

Before you write something, you’d better reread the Bible.

Maybe then you’d understand something.

If this is all you've got, this is going nowhere. Personal negative comments are the last ditch effort of those who otherwise have nothing to add of any value. So out comes the vanity.

"I give you a new commandment, love as I have loved you", this is Jesus, telling His disciples to love others in the manner in which Jesus loved His disciples. Are you Jesus' disciple?

Much love!

 

[marks]

James 2:12-13 KJV
12) So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
13) For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

Where is your heart? Of course you don't allow freedom to criminals. But is your heart filled with anger and bitterness and veangence? Do you sincerely desire they would come to faith, be reborn, live a fruitful life, even when you are protecting others from them, should they try to offend again?

Do we feel nothing but anger for those who commit crimes? Is there any sadness, sorrow, for a life so marred by what they've done, praying that they would come to our Lord and be forgiven?

Much love!

 

[Chrysostomos]

James 2:12-13 KJV
12) So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
13) For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

Where is your heart? Of course you don't allow freedom to criminals. But is your heart filled with anger and bitterness and veangence? Do you sincerely desire they would come to faith, be reborn, live a fruitful life, even when you are protecting others from them, should they try to offend again?

Do we feel nothing but anger for those who commit crimes? Is there any sadness, sorrow, for a life so marred by what they've done, praying that they would come to our Lord and be forgiven?

Much love!

You ask about the state of our hearts—whether they’re filled with anger, bitterness, or vengeance, or if we genuinely desire the salvation of criminals.

But let’s be clear: is the world’s biggest problem right now a lack of mercy toward criminals? I don’t think so. Scripture is far more concerned with the problem of injustice—when the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer.

David wrestled with this in the Psalms, crying out about why the wicked thrive (Psalm 73).

Job questioned God directly: why does evil flourish, and why do criminals seem to get away with it?

God’s response to Job wasn’t “show them mercy”; it was a challenge to confront and subdue evildoers himself (Job 40:11-12).
Even in Revelation, the martyred saints cry out, “How long, O Lord, until You avenge our blood?” (Revelation 6:10).
The Bible consistently highlights the pain of injustice, not a shortage of mercy toward the guilty.
Mercy toward criminals sounds noble, but what does it mean when the criminal holds power over the victim? Mercy is only meaningful when the wicked are brought low—defeated, humbled, and subject to justice. Right now, too many criminals and lawless people hold wealth, influence, and authority. They don’t need our mercy; they’re thriving in their evil. Offering mercy without justice isn’t compassion—it’s enabling wickedness. It’s like saying to the oppressed, “Just forgive your oppressor,” while he’s still crushing you.

Without justice first—without judging rightly, as Matthew 7:1-2 demands—mercy becomes a free pass for evil. If we don’t stand up for the widow, the orphan, and the robbed (Jeremiah 22:3, Psalm 82:3-4), we’re not sowing mercy; we’re sowing chaos. And as Deuteronomy 32:35 warns, when we fail to judge, God’s vengeance comes—and it spares no one.

 

[Chrysostomos]

If this is all you've got, this is going nowhere. Personal negative comments are the last ditch effort of those who otherwise have nothing to add of any value. So out comes the vanity.

"I give you a new commandment, love as I have loved you", this is Jesus, telling His disciples to love others in the manner in which Jesus loved His disciples. Are you Jesus' disciple?

Much love!

We’ve already gone down the “love” road in another thread, and I didn’t see you jumping to add much there. You kind of went quiet.
So what’s this—starting from scratch here as if we never talked about it?

 

[marks]

We’ve already gone down the “love” road in another thread, and I didn’t see you jumping to add much there. You kind of went quiet.
So what’s this—starting from scratch here as if we never talked about it?

I'm speaking concering you, and I, and the matters of the heart. Isn't that what is most important? That our hearts are right?

What does "love" mean to you? Maybe we are talking past each other.

For me, Christian love is my commitment to your wellbeing in all respects, and that does not mean according to the fleshy lusts. That's not good for you, or for me, or for whomever.

Much love!

 

[The Learner]

how does one type an winner icon? shoulder in lots of painnnn

 

[Chrysostomos]

I'm speaking concering you, and I, and the matters of the heart. Isn't that what is most important? That our hearts are right?

What does "love" mean to you? Maybe we are talking past each other.

For me, Christian love is my commitment to your wellbeing in all respects, and that does not mean according to the fleshy lusts. That's not good for you, or for me, or for whomever.

Much love!

I’ve already told you what I think of your talk about “love.” I can repeat it.

In the Runet world, a post like yours would be summed up with one phrase: “This is pure Dostoevskian melodrama.”

“Dostoevskian melodrama” captures the chaotic, contradictory, and overly dramatic atmosphere inspired by Dostoevsky’s works—a tangled mess of tortured overthinking, absurd moral posturing, and incoherent anguish that’s been a hallmark of Russian literature since the early 20th century.

In short, your musings about “love” are just that—ludicrous drivel that twists Scripture into a contradictory, unhinged psychological mess.

 

[Chrysostomos]

P.S. @marks
By the way, you’ve read Tolstoy. Have you read any other Russian classics? You’ve probably fallen victim to Russian classical literature. Had you read Mark Twain instead, you would have had fewer psychological issues.

 

[marks]

In short, your musings about “love” are just that—ludicrous drivel that twists Scripture into a contradictory, unhinged psychological mess.

I'm not going to try to make you obey Jesus.

Much love!

 

[marks]

P.S. @marks
By the way, you’ve read Tolstoy. Have you read any other Russian classics? You’ve probably fallen victim to Russian classical literature. Had you read Mark Twain instead, you would have had fewer psychological issues.

What a laugh!

Read the Bible.

Much love!

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

The Lord God knows about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
God sees how you slander me.

Slander is the act of making a false, spoken/written statement that harms a person's reputation.
What I surmise is that your whole theme is a attack against the Jews - si it is not a false accusation. If I knew it was false and a lie and did it, it would be slander
Are you slandering the Jews? You don 't think you are.
Bottom line, here's where the line is drawn: Bless them and you will be blessed, curse them and you will be cursed.
The choice is yours, but be honest, realize it and own it. God is giving YOU a warning.

 

[Chrysostomos]

Slander is the act of making a false, spoken/written statement that harms a person's reputation.
What I surmise is that your whole theme is a attack against the Jews - si it is not a false accusation. If I knew it was false and a lie and did it, it would be slander
Are you slandering the Jews? You don 't think you are.
Bottom line, here's where the line is drawn: Bless them and you will be blessed, curse them and you will be cursed.
The choice is yours, but be honest, realize it and own it. God is giving YOU a warning.

Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, wrath has gone out against you from the Lord.

In 2 Chronicles 19:1–3, we find the account of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, rebuked by the prophet Jehu, son of Hanani, for his alliance with Ahab, the wicked king of Israel. Jehoshaphat joined Ahab in a military campaign against Ramoth-Gilead (2 Chron. 18:1–3), despite Ahab’s idolatry, including...

www.christianityboard.com

 

[Chrysostomos]

I'm not going to try to make you obey Jesus.

Much love!

You are preaching the doctrine of Leo Tolstoy, not the teachings of Jesus Christ.

 

[marks]

You are preaching the doctrine of Leo Tolstoy, not the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Enough about Tolstoy!

I've quoted for you Jesus' teaching on this several times now. You seem to have some kind of fixation on Tolstoy, there is no need to project that onto me, you only lead yourself astray concerning our conversation. Forget about Tolstoy, Listen to Jesus.

Much love!